Love Cursed
by ladylibra73
Summary: AU - Stephanie loses her job at EE Martin and finds another job at Macy's. She finds a statue, kisses him and he comes to life.


Love Cursed

AU - Stephanie loses her job at EE Martin and finds another job at Macy's. She finds a statue, kisses him and he comes to life.

_**Chapter 1**_

My name is Stephanie Plum and I've been just been laid off from EE Martin. So now I am at home, looking in the paper for a job in the paper. I looked until I saw an opening at Macy's. I found that they needed a department store clerk. I wrote the address down and drove over there. When I walked in the store, I asked the woman at the cashier desk where I can find Alison. She got on the phone and then hung up.

"She will with you shortly."

I looked around the store. Very neat and orderly. Then I saw a dark haired woman with glasses come walking toward me.

"Hi, are you here for the department clerk position?"

"Yes." I said smiling.

"Great, come with me."

I followed Alison through racks of clothes and walked up to two double doors that said employees only then her office. Her office looked normal like any other office. I was expecting something totally different. She sat down and looked over my resume.

"Quite impressive. It says here you have worked at EE Martin for six years."

"Yes. I just got let go."

"Oh that's to bad. Ok, what the department clerk does is dress up the mannequin on whatever the clothing is that is on sale. I will give you a sales slip for you of what to put on the mannequin the night before. Do you think you can do this job?"

"Yes."

"Great. You start tonight at five to ten. Let me take to the dressing room. The last woman here left because she thought something spooky was happening." Alison said unlocking the door.

When I walked in, the room was filled with clothes. Some were hung up and some were on the floor. I looked around some more and noticed a male statue. I walked over to it and stared.

"He is handsome. All the other women here wish he were real. Anyway, be here for five."

That evening, I arrived at exactly five. I looked at the handsome statue again. I shook my head and got to work.

"How long have you been here? You don't know?"

I got closer and then I kissed him. I opened my eyes, leaned back and laughed.

"What am I doing? I'm kissing a statue. This is ridiculous. Princesses kiss frogs and they turn into princes. I don't think there is a thing where a woman kisses a statue and it comes to life. How foolish of me." I said hanging up a blouse.

"I don't think your foolish at all."

"Thanks."

"Welcome."

I turned around to find a man standing in the room with me. Naked.

"How did you get in here? The door is locked." I said quickly looking away.

"You brought me back to life. I am forever grateful."

"What?" I asked looking for pants

"You have broken the curse."

"What curse?" I turn around handing him pants.

"I took the King's daughter to the ball and somehow he caught us in bed. The King dragged me out of bed, chained me and put me in the dungeon. Couple days later, the King and a woman came down. She said she was a sorcereress. She said I would remain frozen for a thousand years. I laughed at that and I didn't believe her. I guess she did. She said it would be punishment for what I did. I was a ladies man. Alicia said if I find a woman who will fall in love with me, the curse will be broken. So you must be my true love I'm human again."

"No, I'm not true love and I don't believe what you just said."

Then my stomach growled.

"Are you hungry? I know I am."

"Yes I am hungry."

"Ok come with me. What is your name?" I asked walking out the back door.

"Carlos."

"Stephanie."

"Beautiful name for a beautiful woman."

"Thanks." I smiled.

When we stepped outside, Carlos looked everywhere.

"Dios. Where am I?"

"Trenton, New Jersey."

"This is certainly different."

I got in the car and Carlos just stood there. I got out of the car and opened the door. He got in, closed the door and I got back in the car and turned it on.

"Your carriage is magic." he said.

"Yes it is."

I put the car in drive.

"Wow, your carriage moves smoothly. What makes it go?"

"A liquid called gas. You see, without gas, the car won't run. Since I have plenty of it, the car will go."

"Fascinating."

I drove to Pino's in silence as Carlos looked out the window. I parked the car and led him inside to a corner booth.

"Two waters please and I will have a meatball sub."

"Do you have pig or venison?"

"No."

"He'll have a hamburger."

The waitress left.

"What's a hamburger?"

"You'll find out. So tell me about this so called place you were at."

"I was born in 984. I was found by a priest on the steps of a church in me . He brought me in and raised me. When I was twelve, I ran away and I became a soldier."

Just then our food arrived.

"Enjoy."

Carlos looked at the hamburger. He picked up the bun and looked at the meat. He took the meat out and was going to eat it with his hands.

"No, no. If you eat just the hamburg, use your fork."

"You're not."

"What I have doesn't require a fork If you put the hamburg back in the bun, you use your hands. Understand?

I watched him take a bite.

"How is it?"

"Very good."

"Would you like ketchup?" I asked handing him the bottle.

"What does this do?"

"It gives the burger flavor."

He squeezed the bottle and a lot came out. I took my spoon and scooped some ketchup off the hamburg. I used the knife to spread the ketchup around. I put the bun back on and pushed the plate in front of Carlos. He took a bite.

"How does that taste now?"

"Delicious."

After we were done eating and everything was paid for, I noticed Eddie coming in the restaurant. He saw me right away.

"Stephanie, how are you?"

"I'm good."

"Who is your friend?"

"This is Carlos. I got a new job at Macy's and we work together. He just moved here from Europe."

"Welcome to America. Are you still coming to the party tomorrow night?"

"Um, I don't know. I will check with Alison my boss."

"Ok. Let me know by tomorrow afternoon. Bye."

"Who is that?" Carlos asked we were walking to my car.

"That is Eddie, he is a cop."

We drove to my apartment in silence. I parked in the spot close to the door as I led Carlos in my apartment.

"I don't have any pajamas for you to wear, I got rid of them."

"That's ok, I sleep naked."

I brought back sheets, a pillow and a blanket.

"Have a good night." I said.

"Stephanie. Thanks for letting me stay here."

"No problem." I said entering the bathroom to change. When I came back out, I took a peek at Carlos. I noticed he had the sheets up to his mid section.

"Is everything ok Steph?" he asked.

"Yeah, everything is fine. Night." I said quickly walking in my room and shutting the door.

Wow what a body. I was getting a little warm so I took off my clothes, got in bed and went to sleep.

_**Chapter 2**_

I woke up to find the sun shining brightly. I looked at the clock, the time read nine. I stretched and looked up to see that Carlos was standing beside my bed. I covered up.

"What are you doing in here?" I asked.

"Watching you sleep."

"Well, now I'm awake. Could you leave so I can dressed?"

I put my clothes on and went into the kitchen to make coffee.

"Would you like to try a cup of coffee?"

"What is coffee?"

"It's a morning beverage no one can live without. Some people drink it at noon and night. It's a beverage consisting of a decoction or infusion of the roasted ground or crushed seeds. Here is a coffee bag and I'm going to pour coffee beans into the coffee maker and the beans turn into liquid."

A few minutes later, coffee was going into a cup. Stephanie handed him a cup.

"Go ahead, taste."

Carlos tasted the coffee.

"It's very good."

"Some people prefer black coffee, some people put cream in it. Do you want to try some cream?"

"No."

There was a knock at the door. I opened the door and it was Eddie.

"Hi Eddie, how are you?"

"Good. I came here because I called you three times and you didn't answer your phone."

"I must've turned it off. What brings you here?"

"I just wanted to know if you're still going to the party tonight."

"I have to work, so I may not be able to."

"I see you brought your friend home."

"He's new here and he didn't have anywhere else to go. So I let him stay here."

"Ok. See you later."

I went to get my phone and just as I turned it on, it rang.

"Hi Stephanie, it's Alison. Did you make sure the door was locked last night after you left?"

"Yes I did, why?"

"My statue is gone."

"Gone?"

"Yeah. I just wanted to let you know what's going on. The police are now investigating. They are coming over to see you to ask some questions."

"Ok, thanks for the heads up."

I hung up. It was noon when there was a knock. It was Eddie again.

"Hi Stephanie."

"Hi Eddie."

"May I come in. I think you know why I'm here"

"Yeah."

Eddie looked around.

"You don't happen to have a statue here do you?"

"No, why would you ask a silly question?"

"You were the last one to see it."

"That doesn't mean I took it. How could I lift a big statue like that and what would I want with it?"

"Very true. Someone could've helped you. Did your friend help you?"

"Eddie, do you really think I would do something like this?"

"No, I'm just doing my job. I'm going to question the other employees at the store. Have a good day."

Just then the door to the bathroom opened. Carlos came out wearing a towel around his waist. My knees almost gave out. He must've gone in the shower when I was talking to Eddie. I tried not to look at his chest and arms. Wow.

"It took me a while to figure out how to work your waterfall."

"It's called a shower."

"It was very nice."

"Tell me more about this curse."

"In order to break free from the curse, you have to fall in love with me. If I remember what Alicia said, I have seven days for someone to fall in love with me and when the seven days are up at midnight and I don't find anyone to fall in love with me. I will be a statue forever."

"Who is Alicia?"

"The sorceress that put the curse on me. You can break this curse by falling in love with me."

"Ha ha, I hardly know you. Besides, I don't believe in love."

"Why?"

"I married a lawyer named Dickie and then he cheated on me. I come home to find him screwing on the couch with his assistant from the law firm. I divorced him and then I met someone else. We dated for six months then I find him with another woman. So, for the past two years I've been single and from what you have told me about you, I could never fall in love with you. You're the love em and leave em type."

"I already love you."

"I've heard that before and I don't believe you."

"What does a guy have to do for you to believe?"

"A lot. He has to have integrity, respect, be faithful."

"I have respect, integrity and faithful."

"You, faithful? From what you told me, you're a ladies man. I ignore pick up lines."

"What are pick up lines?"

"A stupid way to pick up a girl. Like for example 'was that an earthquake or did you just rock my world?'

"I don't need to say things like that to pick up women."

"Of course you don't. You just use your mouth and penis to get your women."

"Do you see me out on the street looking for women? No, If we were together, I wouldn't look at another woman. You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen."

"Really. Well, you haven't been out long enough. Get dressed. We're going to the mall to get you some clothes and there's plenty of women."

He got dressed and we were off to the mall. First, I took him to JC Penney. I found black cargo pants and a black t-shirt. He looked very sexy in it. I also found him a grey hooded sweatshirt and sweat pants. After that, we went to the food court. I ordered the pizza and we sat down. Perfect. Right across from us was Victoria's Secret. I noticed a blond wearing a red spaghetti strap with voluptuous breasts walked out of the store. She stopped to answer her phone. Carlos started at her.

"What do you think of her?"

"Nope."

"Ok. How about her?" I said pointing to a woman coming in the mall. She had long brown hair, with a skinny figure. She wore a blue blouse and jeans.

"No."

"Well, there are plenty of other woman here."

"I don't want any other woman. I want the one that brought life to me." Carlos said taking my hand. I felt the hairs go up on my neck. I noticed the guy at the pizza place signaling me over that the pizza was ready. When I walked to get the pizza, I noticed Eddie walking in the mall.

"Could you box this up instead?"

I watched Eddie walk into a store as the pizza was being boxed. I thanked the man and quickly walked over to Carlos.

"We need to get out of here now."

I took Carlos' arm and quickly walked out of the mall towards the car.

"What's going on?"

"Eddie is in the mall. I don't want to get caught and get put into jail."

"They're looking for a statue, not a man."

I drove back to my apartment. We shared the pizza. Then my phone rang.

"Hi Stephanie. Are you coming tonight?"

I totally forgot.

"No, I'm not feeling so good. I will be in tomorrow night."

"That was Alison."

"What do you know about her?"

"Not all that much. I saw an ad in the paper for a job. I went there to be interviewed by her. She took me in the dressing room and I noticed a statue. She said it belonged to her."

"I belong to her. What kind of a woman is she?"

"I don't know."

"What does she look like?"

"She is a brunette with long hair, my height, slim. She almost looks like Angelina Jolie. Why?"

"I don't know, just a feeling."

"Good or bad."

"Bad."

"She won't be searching here. Eddie was already here and he knows I would never commit a crime, until now."

"Don't worry. I won't be going anywhere or get noticed from the window."

_**Chapter 3**_

The next evening, I went to work, I found Alison in the dressing room.

"Hi Alison."

"Hi Stephanie, how are you feeling?"

"Um, I'm feeling better. Still haven't found your statue?"

"No I haven't."

"Do you have any suspects?"

"Not yet, but when I do, there will be hell to pay. I will make sure they will never get out of prison."

"Where did you find the statue?"

"I won it at an auction. I thought it would look nice in here. Not everything looks dull in here." Alison said walking away.

I really couldn't concentrate on what I was doing. I was worried I was going to get caught. As long as Carlos was tucked away in my apartment, no one will know. When I got home, Carlos was sitting on the couch watching TV.

"What are you watching?"

"Something called basketball. All they do is run back and forth and try to get the ball in the hole."

I sat down next to him and explained how the game was played.

"Very interesting."

"I saw Alison. I asked her if there any suspects yet. She said and when she does have a suspect, there will be hell to pay and she will make sure they never get out of prison."

"What does this woman have with me?"

"I don't know."

"Tomorrow evening, ask her why she is so obsessed with me."

"Yeah I will. Anyways I'm going to bed. Have a good night." I said kissing him on the mouth. We stared into each others eyes.

"Like I said, have a good night." I said again. I quickly walked to my room and shut the door. What just happened? I shrugged it off and changed into my pajamas. I got into bed and went to sleep, but I couldn't. Forty five minutes later, I fell asleep.

I was walking through a field when I saw a guy with his back to me. I called out his name and he turned around. I walked quickly toward him as I put my arms around him. We were about to kiss when nothing happened. I opened my eyes to find that he turned into a statue. I backed away.

"Are you trying to take something away from me?"

"No."

"You're a liar! I'm going to destroy you."

I ran the other way and tripped. I turned around and she was standing over me,

"Who are you?" I asked.

"Alicia and it will be the last time you hear it."

Then I saw a light and then a loud boom and then I woke up startled. I looked around and saw that I was safely in my apartment. It was just a stupid nightmare. I got up to check to see if he was still on the couch. Sure enough, he was. Still as stone. Today is Wednesday. Three days left till he finds someone to fall in love with him.

On Friday, Alison called me to take the night off. I decided to take Carlos back to the mall in case he changed his mind about looking for a woman. He put on sweats and a hooded sweatshirt. When we arrived at the Mall, he pulled up his hood. We walked to the food court and Carlos was looking at the salads. He got a salad while I ordered a pizza. We sat side by side at the table. He took his hood off.

"How is that?"

"It's pretty good. After I ran away from the church, I used to hide in the woods for a couple days. I ate leaves and stuff. This is a little different."

The Mall was not crowded for a Friday night, which is unusual. It's usually packed. As I was getting my second piece of pizza, I felt Carlos' hands entwine with mine. Electricity went up my arm. After we were done eating, we walked around. He took my hand again. I noticed a blond coming out of a store. He didn't even look at her.

"Don't even think that I will look at another woman, cause I won't."

He looked deep into my eyes and then he kissed me.

"Would you believe that I love you?" he asked.

"I don't know. You're not the type to love any woman."

"Stephanie, how nice to see you here."

"Hi Alison, how are you?"

"Very good. I thought the mall would be crowded tonight, but it's not. So, who is your friend?"

We both turned to find him not there.

"He was here."

"Well, that's ok. I can meet him another time. Have fun shopping."

I walked away hoping she wouldn't follow me. I looked for Carlos, then I felt a tug. I tried to break free.

"Stop struggling."

I turned and it was Carlos.

"I snuck away when she wasn't looking and I blended in with some people."

"Let's get out of here." I said looking around.

Carlos pulled up his hood as we walked out of the mall. We arrived safely back to my apartment.

"Is everything ok?" he asked.

"Yes, she just surprised me that she was there." I said hanging up my coat.

"Is something else bothering you?"

"I had a nightmare that I was walking through a field when I saw you. I ran to you and we embraced each other and when we pulled apart you changed into stone. Then this woman appeared. I asked her who she was and she said her name is Alicia and she said that would be the last time I hear it. Then there was a flash of light and then the next thing I know it was a nightmare. Do you think Alison has anything to do with this?"

"I don't know, but what I do know is that I love you." he said putting his on my cheeks. We kissed deeply as I put my arms around his neck. When we pulled apart, he looked deep in to my eyes.

"I say we continue this in the bedroom. Forget about what I said in the past. What I have for you is real. When you kissed me the other night before you went to bed, I felt a tingle go down my spine."

He took off his sweatshirt and put my hand on his chest where his heart is. He had a very muscular chest with wonderful abs. He could've been a model.

"Feel that? My heart beats just for you. How much more do I have to convince you?"

"You don't." I said kissing him deeply. The kiss was so deep that I didn't notice he carried me to my bed. I took off my clothes. Carlos stood at the head of the bed and took his pants off. I almost fainted when I saw the rest of his body. He crawled on the bed onto me. Carlos' kisses felt like I was floating on air. He entered me as our tongues met. I caressed his chest, arms, and back as I wrapped my legs around his back. He kissed my neck as he caressed my breasts.

"You feel so good." Carlos said.

We both climaxed. He got off of me and pulled me next to him. I put my head on his chest as he rubbed my back. We fell asleep.

_**Chapter 4**_

I woke up an hour later with Carlos' arm around my waist. I looked at him. He was awake.

"You were wonderful. Feels just like Heaven. I never felt something like that with any other woman. I love you Stephanie and I'm hoping you feel the same way about me. I know you told me about your failed relationships, but I'm not like any other of the guys. I'm not going to cheat on you, I will give you the utmost respect and I will always be faithful to you. I need you to believe in love again."

"Are you trying to get her to fall in love with you? It seems you are you still trying to say stuff to get women in bed and it seems like you already completed that task."

"Alicia?"

"Yes."

"How did you know where I live?" I asked.

"I followed you. You're going to prison for a long time for stealing my statue."

"She's not going anywhere. We love each other."

"Has she told you that? I think that would be impossible if she were in prison and you being a statue."

There was a knock and Alicia went to answer it. We quickly put on our clothes.

"She is right here. Arrest her!"

Eddie came in and cuffed me. I looked at Carlos and noticed Alicia turned him into a statue.

"He will be someplace where you will never find him. Ever!"

"I have twenty fours. I will find a way." I said.

"Good luck."

"Come on, let's go." said Eddie.

Eddie put me in the cruiser and took me to the station. When we got there, it was one in the morning and Eddie put me in a jail cell and went to his desk. He was the only one on duty.

"Eddie, you can't do this. She's got you under a spell. You have to let me go."

"You're not going anywhere."

I needed help fast.

"Can I least make a phone call?"

"You have five minutes."

I dialed Mary Lou's number and told her my story. A few hours later, I heard voices.

"Hi Steph."

"Hi Lou, I'm so glad you're here."

"I'm glad to help. I put exlax in the cookies. He should be running to the bathroom in about an hour and while he is in the bathroom, I will grab the keys and we leave."

"Excellent plan."

An hour later, Eddie quickly ran to the bathroom. Mary Lou quickly got up to go get the keys hanging on a hook on the board. She quickly unlocked the cell door and we quickly ran out of the station to her car.

"I need a disguise so I can get into Alison's office. I need to prove that I'm in love with him to break the curse before midnight."

"Are you really in love with him?"

"Yes I am.

"I think you should go home and get some sleep."

"I can't go home and neither can you. We'll have to stay at a hotel."

"Ok, wake me up at six so we can get a head start on things."

"I will do that."

The next morning, Mary Lou woke up me at six thirty. We showered and ordered in. After breakfast we went to Target to get a couple of wigs for our disguise. By noon, Mary Lou drove behind the Macy's building. There was a truck at the loading dock.

"I will go. I'll pretend I need directions." I said.

"We could always wait and see where they go."

"Can't do that. Don't know when they will leave."

"Be careful."

I made sure my wig was on right and got out of the car. When I got to the truck I heard voices. They had a big rectangular box on a forklift. I was assuming it was Carlos.

"Hi guys. I'm new here and I need directions to a TJ Maxx."

"We're going in the same direction. Not to TJ Maxx of course. The place we are going is across the street. So you shouldn't have a problem looking for it. We will be leaving in a few minutes."

"Thanks."

I quickly walked back to the car and got in.

"They are going the same way we are. The place they are going at is right across the street from TJ Maxx. They must be taking Carlos to a warehouse."

A few minutes later the truck left the loading dock and we followed them. Ten minutes later, the truck turned left warehousing company. We turned into the TJ Maxx parking lot watching.

We waited for the truck to leave. It was after five when the truck left. I got out of the car and walked to the door. When I got to the door, a guy walked out.

"What are you doing back here? Your not supposed to be here."

"I'm having trouble with my car and I left my phone at home and you seem the only human that can help."

"OK, let's go take a look."

Mary Lou got out of the car and opened the hood.

"What seems to be the problem?"

"I don't know, it doesn't want to start. I put a new battery in it last week."

"Let's have a look."

When the guy looked under the hood, Mary Lou shut the hood on the guy and he fell to the ground. I took the keys out of the guys pocket and ran to the warehouse. Mary Lou went in with me. I opened the door with the key and went in and we walked downstairs. When we got to the bottom of the stairs, we found a door. We walked up to it and turned the knob. I was surprised it wasn't locked. We walked in and found a lot of rectangular crates. The warehouse was also huge.

"Why don't we start at both ends and work our way to the middle." I said.

"Good idea." Mary Lou said.

We both took hammers and started opening. We've been opening crates for two hours and still haven't found him. By eleven, we still haven't found him. When I got to the next crate, I felt a tingle go down my spine. The same tingle when I kissed Carlos the other night.

"I found him!"

I quickly opened the crate and found him.

"What do you think you're doing?"

I turned around and found Alicia walking toward me.

"Look at this mess you made. You really are going to pay for this. Stealing my statue and now this. You are going to prison for this. You will stay there till the day you die."

"They won't see that I stole a statue, they will see a man and I love him."

We heard the doors open and Eddie and the police came walking in.

"Arrest this woman! She was trying to steal my statue again."

"What statue? She knocked me out and put me in this box. Stephanie managed to find me." said Carlos.

"That's why there is such a mess in here." I said.

"No, no. That's not true. You're a statue and you will turn back into one." said Alicia pointing at him.

Nothing happened.

"Why aren't you changing?"

"This woman is delusional." I said.

"No I'm not. This man belongs to me."

"Do you know this woman?" Eddie asked Carlos.

"No I don't. Never saw her in my life. We were sleeping in bed and all of a sudden I wake up and she's there in the room. She hit me on the head with a hard object and the next thing I know, I'm in a box.

"So she broke into your apartment."

"Yes." I said.

"No I didn't. They are both lying."

"It's the truth. I saw you and I followed you here." said Mary Lou.

"You all are lying."

"You're under arrest, come with us."

"No. He is my statue."

Eddie cuffed her and took her away. We followed them outside.

"We need a statement from you tomorrow." said Eddie.

"I will be there by midmorning. See you later Eddie." I said.

We watched them take Alicia away. Carlos took a hold of my hand and brought me close to him. We kissed deeply. I heard a throat being cleared. I turned and saw Mary Lou standing behind me.

"Carlos, this is my friend Mary Lou."

"Nice to meet you." Mary Lou said.

Mare drove us back to my apartment. I thanked her and she drove off. As we got in my apartment, Carlos grabbed a hold of me and we kissed.

"I knew you would believe in love again. I'm free of the curse."

"Did Alicia think she could change you back into a statue in front of the cops?"

"Yes. When the curse broke she lost her powers. When I was in the cell a thousand years ago, she explained to me that if the curse ever broke, she would lose her powers and she hoped the curse would never break. Obviously it did, cause someone fell in love with me." Carlos said kissing me.

We made love. The next day we went to the police department and put my statement in. Alicia still complained that we were lying. Alicia was sentenced ten years for breaking and entering and she would also undergo a psychiatric evaluation and if she ever was released from the psychiatric ward, there were would be restraining order if she ever got near them. I introduced Carlos to a friend of mine named Tank. I thought Carlos would enjoy bounty hunting. Tank taught Carlos everything and no time at all, Carlos was chasing skips. I told Tank he was from Europe. A year and a half later, Carlos and I got married and I still worked for Macy's. What I couldn't believe is that I found the love of my life, my soul mate.


End file.
